FAQs

What is pavement or asphalt art? Pavement or asphalt art is painting designs or murals directly on the roadway or street using wear-resistant paint or epoxy.

Why asphalt art? Asphalt art has been created in communities around the world.  It builds community among its participants and creates community spaces. In addition, research conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies shows that asphalt art can meaningfully reduce accidents andimprove street safety for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Why don’t we approach the City of Berkeley to address the unsafe traffic conditions at this intersection? Over the past decade, several groups of neighbors have approached the City about traffic calming measures. Each time, the City has conducted a traffic study and concluded that this intersection does not meet the City’s criteria for implementing traffic calming measures. 

How is the city of Berkeley involved? The city of Berkeley doesn't have an asphalt art program, so this will be neighbor-funded, implemented and maintained.

How much is it going to cost? The costs will depend on the design and the choice of paint materials.  Based on the size of the project and the cost of asphalt art projects in other cities, we expect the total cost to be less than $4000 – and possibly significantly less.  Costs will include paint and other materials as well as refreshments for volunteers.  There will be no cost for labor or design, as these will be provided by volunteer neighbors. When the design has been determined we will develop a budget and solicit voluntary contributions from neighbors.

What will the mural look like?  That's up to the community! The design idea contest was open until May 12, 2024 (see more info here) and community members were asked to vote on their favorite design by June 25th! You can see the winning design here.

When will it happen?  The specific timeline depends on how long each stage of the process takes. We hope to be painting in August or September of 2024. 

How long will it take to paint the design on the road?  This will depend on the chosen design, but we expect that it will take no more than a few days to complete the work.

How long will it last?  This depends on a few factors: the conditions of the road, the paint we use, weather, and traffic patterns.

Who is organizing this? A group of neighbors who want to improve the safety of the intersection and make it a more vibrant public space while building community within our neighborhood. 

How will the design be chosen? We hosted a design competition and got votes from the community to pick the preferred design. We received over 100 votes from neighbors and you can see the winning design here.

What are the criteria for design submissions? Check out www.quintersection.com/design to see the design criteria. Submissions and voting are now closed.